great article there in the indo bout our irish lads!! cant wait for the olympics! whats the telly coverage going to be like?
Dunno what RTÉ will do but with BBC Interactive we should be able to see all of the boxing, and I don't just mean our guys I mean all of it ! . It starts on the 9th and ends on the 24th so that's through the whole Olympics . I haven't read the article yet but I hope people don't set their expectations too high for the lads, as I said on another forum 1 Bronze, a losing semi-finalists, 2 quarter finalists and 1 in the second round would be a very good result for the lads when you properly analyze their strengths and the strength of competition . Paddy Barnes is a very good fighter but he simply has too much competition at his weight class to be a medal prospect . Even if he avoids the top 3/4 guys in the early rounds there are still 5/6 guys who would probably still be too good for him . Nevin is inexperienced and never taken on the top guys(except in the juniors), but he has beaten the medium level guys that made the olympics . It'll still be very tough for him to medal . John Joe Joyce, he's done well to make the Olympics and he's by no means a bad fighter but he'll be doing well to progress a few rounds . No chance of a medal from him . Sutherland and Egan are experienced and have proven they can beat quite a few decent level fighters but they fall short at the top level . At their best and with a good draw they have a similar chance to what Nevin does . Andy Lee was a better chance for a medal than any of these guys, and although he was robbed in the fight he lost the point is he didn't even get close . We have 3 guys who each have a small chance at Bronze and a very narrow chance for Silver . Nevin, Egan and Sutherland . On the upside Nevin is only 18, Joyce 20 and Barnes 21 . If they stay on for the next Olympics and continue improving they will be serious medal prospects and I won't be just talking Bronze and maybe Silver then . But right now I wouldn't bet on us gaining a medal .
MATTHEW MACKLIN AIMING TO BE A GRAND MASTER http://www.sundaymercury.net/midlan...n-aiming-to-be-a-grand-master-66331-21416821/
Very good sum up i think the only disagrement is i would be abit more optomistic about Nevin sneaking a medal i think he is the Olympic teams best hope.He is young but is very talented and in the last 6 months has beaten the european #2 and 3.At odds of 6/1 for him to win any medal thats where my money is going.
1 A Lee 2 J Duddy 3 P McCloskey 4 M Macklin 5 B Dunne 6 M Lindsay 7 B Magee 8 J Moore 9 N Sinclair 10 J Rock
Nevin has looked good all this year, I think he is unbeaten this year:huh. But either way its a fantastic achievement by the High Performance to have 5 boxers qualified for the games.:yep
Macklin's one to watch closely. Very tough and only 26 yrs.old. Would love to see him fight Sturm. Wonder if McGurt is still training him?
Used to listen to Joey Reynolds sometimes, would have loved to hear this interview. Anyway, I think james made a good move in trying a different trainer. If only his chin was a little better. Keep it tucked in and "Go James Go":good
Bigears, great run down of our Oyympic boxers even though the medal chances seem a bit gloomy.Any of these lads talking about going pro after the games or is this kind of talk a bit premature?
What a great fight.Margarito deserved the victory.His chin and stamina were just too much for Cotto.I've never seen a fighter walk through so many big shots and not seen affected at all.Most guys would have been Koed from those bombs.
Sutherland is definitely turning pro after the Olympics, he'll be another great addition to our middleweight ranks . Egan has said he'll turn pro if he wins a medal, otherwise he'll stay on till the European Championships at least(November this year) . The other 3 would probably only consider it if they medaled, although thinking about it Paddy Barnes would be 25 if he stayed on till the next Olympics. Perfect age for winning a medal in the amateurs but not the best age to be turning pro at for a fighter around that weight . However I'd like to see Barnes stay on if it looks like he has real prospects to medal in London .
CHINA IN HIS HANDS http://www.irishnews.com/articles/597/556/2008/7/29/593929_352751656042Chinainh.html
I have a slip from Paddy Power with Nevin at 14/1 for any medal and 66/1 for a gold. I think they too underated him! (I hope)
I'm gonna throw a few quid on Nevin,Sutherland and Barnes to medal. i think it could be our best olympics since 92.